This invention relates to a propellant charge igniter for insertion into a propellant charge carrier, e.g., a cartridge, said igniter having a flame guide tube leading from an ignition charge to a lead fuze, an ignition guide tube surrounding the lead fuze and means for completely expelling the ignition guide tube from the charge igniter to avoid undesirable glowing residue which can escape from the barrel of a weapon when the bottom of the cartridge is removed.
In order to be able to fire a projectile with a propellant charge as far as possible from a firing tube, it is necessary to ignite, in a controlled fashion, the propellant charge located in a propellant charge carrier, for example a cartridge. An effort is made in this regard to ignite the entire propellant charge in such fashion that a high initial pressure is rapidly produced and the pressure is then kept at a high level for as long as possible. Pressure peaks occurring locally within the propellant charge are undesirable in this context, since such peaks negatively affect the subsequent burning of the propellant charge and also have a negative effect on the lifetime of the firing tube. Propellant charges are therefore not only ignited at one end, but special propellant charge igniters with ignition guide tubes are used.
A propellant charge igniter is known from DE 38 29 657 Al in which a lead fuse located in an elongated ignition guide tube (wound tube) is ignited by means of an igniting charge. The ignition guide tube, located concentrically with respect to a flame guide tube, has its end at a bottom-part side projecting into a bottom part. A separating charge is located within the outline of the bottom part of the flame guide tube. The propellant charge igniter also has a metal jacket located between the separating charge and the ignition guide tube. An annular seal is located in a circumferential recess in the flame guide tube at the end of the metal jacket facing away from one bottom end of the bottom part, the seal acting as a valve with the metal jacket and the flame guide tube and, in the open position, permitting the hot combustion gases of the separating charge to flow toward the ignition guide tube.
Ignition of a propellant charge with the propellant charge igniter according to DE 38 29 657 Al takes place in such fashion that the ignition charge initially ignites the lead fuse composed of annular ignition-material tablets. Then the lead fuse ignites the propellant charge through openings in the ignition guide tube, the propellant charge, in turn, then igniting the separating charge through priming holes in the bottom part. The hot gases from the separating charge force the annular seal aside and separate the ignition guide tube in the area of the end of the bottom part facing away from the bottom side. The separated part of the ignition guide tube is then hurled out of the firing tube by the gases flowing out of the firing tube, while the other part of the ignition guide tube remains connected to the bottom part.
This arrangement has the disadvantage that an undesirable glowing residue can still escape from the barrel of the weapon when the cartridge bottom is pulled out or removed.